Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF) dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $61.65 and last traded at $62.96. Approximately 40,324 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 38,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FRAF. Hovde Group increased their target price on Franklin Financial Services from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $284.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of -0.02.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $24.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.70 million. Franklin Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 18.20%.

Franklin Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Franklin Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRAF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $18,311,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 29,637 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,639,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $981,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Franklin Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $794,000. 24.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Financial Services

Franklin Financial Services Corporation is the bank holding company for F&M Trust, a community banking institution headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The company serves individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations through a network of banking offices in south-central Pennsylvania and neighboring communities.

F&M Trust provides a range of financial products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer lending, residential mortgages, home equity financing and commercial loans.